Rachel Sennott exploring her hilarious show portraying the chaotic appeal of younger generation life

The performer joins the video call and at once begins an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she states, seeming truly apologetic. Despite being only a bit delayed, she feels compelled to explain. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. I had two calls before this, and I’m like, I’ve gotta stop talking!” Thankfully, in this context, that’s precisely what you want to hear. Besides, it’s fairly predictable. Viewers who have seen her unapologetically LGBTQ+ and brash project Bottoms—that Sennott collaborated on with Emma Seligman and appeared in alongside close companion Ayo Edebiri—can be aware that she holds plenty to discuss, ranging from on roles, relationships, or the pros of creating a youth fight club. And, once you finish the latest eight-part program I Love LA, it becomes obvious that she carries even more insights on the struggles of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott represents a relatable figure of the gang, a tale-end millennial with a knack for straddling millennials and Gen Z).

Inspirations and Creative Vision

Parallels to the iconic series Girls can’t be avoided and Sennott admits to being enthusiastic, naming the show in addition to Sex and the City, Issa Rae’s show and the innovative program as guides for I Love LA, which follows the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally who is also new representative Maia. However, the biggest spot on creative vision went to the HBO series, the HBO sitcom focusing on an up-and-coming A-list actor navigating in a corrupt entertainment industry (notable statement: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). Sennott began viewing it throughout the pandemic, became “captivated”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.

“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for this project originated—partly—from firsthand, initially fractious, relocation to Los Angeles and from the astrological phase, a frequently discussed occurrence for enthusiasts. This represented a time that saw her understand major insights, professionally and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she recalls. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “It resembled a series of extreme challenges…”

Starting Out

Raised in the East Coast, the star began developing and showcasing comedy while enrolled in theatre at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “I tried out for all the NYU comedy groups, and got rejected from all of them. “None of the university plays cast me either.” “It left me questioning my purpose and place.”

She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with Edebiri and sharing uproarious (and very) weird comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, followed characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another imagined being employed at the brand Hollister as like being caught in a horror film. Interestingly, she encountered Emma through campus film circles and ended up starring in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a Jewish wake with echoes of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her career, she notes, has been peers giving her a shot, instead of established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “Definitely not them”, she emphasizes, stating with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”

Rising Success

Those who were skeptical about her earlier will likely be kicking themselves today. Through she labels a “incredibly circular” development, she seems to have created the perfect project. Previously she posted content named on LA life on the internet, in which she lampooned Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with Emma Barrie) of a comedy about LA residents juggling benefits of digital stardom (such as socializing at Elijah Wood’s house) with drawbacks (your client being labeled as being a intoxicated thief, and potentially becoming a unreliable pariah). Some could tempting to produce a series about digital influence that was overly idealized—or, worse, one that punched down at those depicted. The series steers clear of each, making for a depiction of affluent twentysomething life that’s honest about the grot and the appeal.

Balanced Perspective

“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she observes. “I think that young people have been through a lot – I’m mostly thinking of people younger than me, like my little sister, who went to college during Covid, so she had to come home, or my other sister who was doing school online.”|“The younger generation has faced significant

Richard Dominguez
Richard Dominguez

A tech journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and startup ecosystems across Europe.